Following criticism, GLCCB to hold first public board meeting in years

Monica Lopossay/The Baltimore Sun

The GLCCB at the Waxter Center, at 1000 Cathedral St.

The GLCCB at the Waxter Center, at 1000 Cathedral St. (Monica Lopossay/The Baltimore Sun)

Kevin Rector, The Baltimore Sun

The board of directors of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Baltimore has scheduled their first public board meeting in years, following a wave of criticism about its transparency in recent weeks.

The meeting will occur at 6:30 p.m. next Monday, Aug. 11, on the third floor of the Waxter Center in Mount Vernon, where the GLCCB recently relocated.

The decision follows a larger town hall meeting the GLCCB held late last month to collect community feedback on this summer's Baltimore Pride events. Attendees of the town hall criticized the center and its leaders on a broad array of issues, including transparency, and specifically asked for board meetings to be opened to the public.

The board's longest serving member and president, Mike McCarthy, said he does not remember the board holding a public meeting during his tenure, which began in January 2012, and he does not know when the last public board meeting was held.

McCarthy said he had never heard a "clamoring" for the meetings to be public until the recent town hall meeting, where former board members said such meetings were routinely open to the public in the past.

Dan McEvily, a GLCCB spokesman, said records show the board last held a public meeting in September 2012.

Kelly Neel, the center's executive director, said she has been trying to meet with community stakeholders in private, and welcomed the opening of the board meetings.

"In order for us to be a center for the community, we have to hear from the community," she said.

In a statement released Monday, the GLCCB said public portions of board meetings will be standard moving forward.

Those interested in attending are asked to email Board Secretary Gilles Stromberg at secretary@glccb.org by Aug. 10 to RSVP. Neel said center leaders want to make sure there is enough room for those who plan to attend.